An unfair division

THE FRIDAY THING: FOLLOWING last week’s piece about secondary education (or, in some cases, the lack of it) this week the focus turns to what is described as a North-South divide in England’s secondary schools.

Accoring to reports a third of secondary schools in the North and the Midlands are simply not good enough. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan says schools in poor areas, including Oldham, are languishing in mediocrity and more attention should be focused on these areas.

Ofsted chief Michael Wilshaw says some schools in the North and Midlands have failed miserably year after year.

The watchdog’s annual report revealed 16 weak local authority areas — all but three in the North and Midlands — where fewer than 60 per cent of children attend good or outstanding high schools (in Oldham the figure is 35 per cent), make less than average progress and achieve lower than average GCSE grades.

In all more than 400,000 pupils in the two areas go to a school classed as “less than good”.

There is a significant difference in the quality of teaching in London and the South and the Midlands and the North, depriving school pupils of the same quality of leadership.

Secondary and Primary Schools in the South have good schools, many achieving 100 per cent at both secondary and primary level.

Fair, the system quite plainly isn’t.